Recent Family Announcements

Recent Deaths

Charles Wayman Waddell - 03 March 1948 - 06 January 2026. Died Cabot, Arkansas. The world bids farewell to Charles Wayman Waddell of Cabot, Arkansas, departing on January 6, 2026 at the age of 77. Charles leaves behind memories cherished by the community. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 10th 2026 at 2:00 PM at the Mt. Sinai Church of God in Christ (349 AR-365, Conway, AR 72032). A burial will be held on Monday, January 12th 2026 at 11:00 AM at the Arkansas State Veteran's Cemetery (1501 W Maryland Ave, North Little Rock, AR 72120).

Calvin Lewis - January 3, 1949 - September 3, 2025 (76 years old). It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Calvin Lewis of Beaumont, Texas, who passed away on September 3, 2025, at the age of 76, leaving to mourn family and friends. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Calvin Lewis to pay them a last tribute.

In the quiet moments of reflection, let us honor Calvin's memory by embracing the beauty of each fleeting moment, knowing that his spirit resides in the eternal tapestry of existence, forever woven into the fabric of our hearts.

Myrna R. Keys-Mott - born on August 3, 1957 to Allen Joseph Keys, Sr. and Margie Mae Washington Keys. She was baptized at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Welsh, LA and a faithful member. She was a faithful member of St. Henry Catholic Church in Lake Charles before returning to live in Welsh. She graduated from Welsh High School and worked in service to others, working for Jeff Davis Parish and Robinswood School. She retired from the Calcasieu Parish School Board after 24 years as first a bus aid, then a bus driver. After retirement, she worked for Albertsons grocery store. She spent much of her free time lovingly serving the Church and helping family members, including helping to raise nieces and nephews. She is survived by three sisters and three brothers, Mary Melina Volair (Darril) of Houston, TX, Marjorie Ann Pitre (Gussie, Sr.) of Lake Charles, Bernadette Keys of Welsh, Kenneth J. Keys (Tamara) of Lake Charles, Paul L. Keys, Sr. and Donald R. Keys, both of Welsh, and a host of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents Allen J. Keys, Sr. and Marjorie "Margie" Keys, husband Tim Mott, brothers Allen J. Keys, Jr., Carl A. Keys, Hubert A. Keys, Michael J. Keys, Sr., sister Cynthia M. Keys, and nieces Cy'Neesha M. Keys and Dalena M. Keys.

Bernita Mildred Hopkins

January 20, 1934 - October 21, 2024. Hello KLK Family. A life so beautifully lived deserves to be beautifully remembered. The windows of heaven opened, and our Lord God received our beloved Bernita Hopkins of Tacoma, WA into his loving arms on Monday October 21, 2024. She is the daughter of Clinton "Seth" Keys. Our KLK Family Reunions brought her so much joy! We will miss her laughter, dancing and beautiful smile. She celebrated her 90th birthday January 20, 2024. Please keep her sons Michael and Bryan Hopkins and their family in your prayers. We are deeply sorry for your loss Cousins. May God comfort and strengthen you all in this time of bereavement. You all are in our prayers. Funeral Services - Friday, November 1, 2024, 1:00 pm St. John Transformation Ministries International (TMI), 2001 S. J St. Tacoma, WA 98405.

Charles Mallet

October 10, 1935 - September 4, 2023, Charles Mallet was very popular on social media with over 4.7 million followers on TikTok thanks to his family-friendly videos with the help of his granddaughter Basia Mallet, bringing awareness of the disease Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Cousin Charles Mallet was featured on GMA, CBS, NBC and Newsweek. Charles supported many of our KLK Family Reunions with his wife Maudra “Frisky.” Funeral Services will be held Saturday September 23, 2023, 11:30am at Inglewood Mortuary, Inglewood, CA. We are deeply sorry for your loss Cousins. May God comfort and strengthen you all in this time of bereavement. You all are in our prayers, Cousin Monica Mallet.

History

The Keys-Lewis-Keyes family has a storied past with subject connections as far back as 17th century Spain, Italy, Germany, eastern Africa and eastern Europe. We also have connections to Canada, the Caribbean, Jamaica, and Veracruz, Mexico.

The connection to this distant ancestry is with Fidelise Donato, wife of Frank Key, married in Opelousas, St Landry Parish, Louisiana on January 9, 1869. Fidelise is a granddaughter of Martin Donato, a well respected businessman, land owner, and entrepreneur who lived in Opelousas. Frank and Fidelise had 19 children all of whom farmed lands in St Landry Parish and adjacent parishes.

Frank’s younger brother Adolph, born in 1849, married Celina Hillman and had seven children. Adolph died in 1919 in Houston, Texas. Before moving to Texas, both families lived in southeast Louisiana and worked the cotton and sugarcane fields as slaves before the end of the civil war...then as sharecroppers during the reconstruction period.

Note the different phonetic spelling of the family name which has changed throughout the centuries from Key to Keys to Keyes. Many of the family still spell their name as "Keys", while many others have adopted "Keyes" as the way to spell their name. There are many "Key" ancestors in the tree of whom we are attempting to contact and establish a heritage connection.

Our connection to the Lewis family is through Mary Parker Lewis, a local midwife, who married Adolphe Key, son of Frank and Fidelise, in January 1891. Mary and Adolphe had nine children (8 boys, 1 girl). The oldest child was a son named Frank and the youngest is another son named Essiah. The only dauther was named Emily. Others include my grandfather Abraham and great uncles Bailey, Joseph, Calton, Clinton, and Clemmon.

Family Tree

Unfortunately the actual family tree is far too large to post on the website. Instead, we have posted two reports illustrating the descendants of Jean Key and his wife Fanny. Jean Key and Fanny is where the search stops heading up the Keyes heritage. The second report is a pedigree chart from Matthew Battles to Jean Key, showing the upward ancestry relationship.

Descendant Report * A Murdine Berry Production

Genealogy Pedigree Chat

Member Spotlight

A feature story of someone celebrating a recent achievement, or a story of someone doing humanitarian work.

Family Tree Heritage Collection

The collection of historical family data is essential to passing on the lineage to our descendants. Each of us have a responsibility to provide information about our ancestry that can be passed down to future generations giving them a since of pride and a knowledge of the contributions made to this country be our forefathers and mothers.

Announcements for the family include recent births, deaths, graduations, marriages, and any other major events that have taken place in your individual family that you wish to share.

Entries can be provided in two ways - first by clicking on the

"Heritage Update Form" link, downloading and printing a copy of

the form, completing the form and mailing it to the historian at the address provided at the bottom of the form. You will be contacted directly should there be any questions about your submission.

The second method of providing updates to the family history is to click on the "Contact Form" template at the bottom of the page. When filling in your information, please be sure to give accurate information about your grandparents and descendants, birth dates and date of death, and correct name spelling for additional research by historian. The best place to find historical information is on funeral service obituaries, family bibles, birth and/or death certificates, retirement, tax and legal documents, e.g., property, court, social security or military documents, etc. When you're done, click on the "Send" button to send your updates and/or additions directly to the historian. You will be contacted directly should there be any questions about your submission.